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haydonperrior
Participating Frequently
January 27, 2024
Answered

After import, images not showing in Previous Import and smart previews not being built.

  • January 27, 2024
  • 4 replies
  • 2078 views

I'm working with Lightroom Classic V13.1 on a Mac and for a few months now whenever I import photos, they don’t show until I completely close the app and restart it which is very annoying. I never used to have this issue and not sure what's changed. They don't show on Previous Import until after reset and Smart Previews aren't built despite me ticking the box. The folder I have imported the photos from shows up in the Folders list however is greyed out and says 0 but when I click on it the photos are there and acting normal, it's not until I reboot app that the folder shows the image count and isn't greyed out.

 

I have uninstalled LrC and reinstalled in the hope it would fix this issue but nothing has changed. I also deleted all my previews and rebuilt them for my entire catalog, again, this didn't fix the issue. VERY keen to get this resloved as it means im constantly having to reboot the app which wastes a lot of time. 

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer JohanElzenga

    Bingo! Have tested importing photos into a new catalog and the issue is resolved... however, ive tried to import the old catalog into this new one and getting the error message: 

    Lightroom could not import this catalog because of an unknown error.

    ...any ideas? I have months worth of organising into collections etc in that catalog so loosing it isnt really an option


    That means the corruption in your catalog is already too severe for the import process to work. As you can still open it, the opposite may work. Open your main catalog and then use 'File - Export as catalog'. In the dialog select to export all images, but do not select to include the 'negatives' and also do not build previews or smart previews. Just export a catalog file. Open the exported catalog and do the same test. If it works, then you can use this catalog file to replace your old catalog file.

     

    4 replies

    H
    haydonperriorAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    January 27, 2024

    It's a 2021 M1 running Sonoma 14.3... and this issue has lasted a few months now also using previous Sonoma versions.

      JohanElzenga
      Community Expert
      JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 27, 2024

      It could be your catalog. Try this: create a brand new catalog, import some photos and see what happens. If Lightroom behaves as it should with this catalog, then most likely your main catalog is corrupted. In that case what often solves this is creating a new catalog, then using 'File - Import from Another Catalog' and import your old catalog. Select the option to import new photos without moving them. This will create a copy of your old catalog, hopefully without the corruption problems.

       

      -- Johan W. Elzenga
      JohanElzenga
      Community Expert
      JohanElzengaCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      January 27, 2024

      Bingo! Have tested importing photos into a new catalog and the issue is resolved... however, ive tried to import the old catalog into this new one and getting the error message: 

      Lightroom could not import this catalog because of an unknown error.

      ...any ideas? I have months worth of organising into collections etc in that catalog so loosing it isnt really an option


      That means the corruption in your catalog is already too severe for the import process to work. As you can still open it, the opposite may work. Open your main catalog and then use 'File - Export as catalog'. In the dialog select to export all images, but do not select to include the 'negatives' and also do not build previews or smart previews. Just export a catalog file. Open the exported catalog and do the same test. If it works, then you can use this catalog file to replace your old catalog file.

       

      -- Johan W. Elzenga
        H
        haydonperriorAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        January 27, 2024

        I already reset Preferences when i uninstalled and reinstalled the LrC app. I didn't select restore preferences and it's made no difference.

          DdeGannes
          Community Expert
          DdeGannesCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          January 27, 2024

          What version number of macOS do you have installed on your computer?

          Regards, Denis: iMac 27” mid-2015, macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur; 2TB SSD, 24 GB Ram, GPU 2 GB; LrC 12.5,; Lr 6.5, PS 24.7,; ACR 15.5,; (also Laptop Win 11, ver 24H2, LrC 15.0.1, PS 27.0; ) Camera Oly OM-D E-M1.
            Per Berntsen
            Community Expert
            Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            January 27, 2024

            Try resetting the preferences.

            https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/setting-preferences-lightroom.html

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